Episode Details
Back to Episodes#466 - [Journal Club] - 📌 Oral isn't IM: Sweden's vitamin K data in two million infants
Description
Is the newborn vitamin K shot really being skipped more often these days, and does that actually matter clinically? This week on Journal Club, Ben and Daphna review a nationwide Swedish cohort study of over two million births, published in JAMA Pediatrics, examining trends in non-receipt of intramuscular vitamin K and its link to bleeding in infancy. Non-receipt nearly doubled between 2006 and 2021, and infants without intramuscular vitamin K had significantly higher odds of bleeding, including intracranial bleeding, than those who received it — oral vitamin K carried an even higher bleeding risk still. Ben and Daphna also discuss home birth data, families requesting oral alternatives, and how best to counsel parents navigating a vitamin K refusal in clinic today.
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Vitamin K Prophylaxis in Newborns and Bleeding in Infancy. Simatou E, Tsamantioti E, Hallström A, Stephansson O, Razaz N, Persson M, Bolk J.JAMA Pediatr. 2026 Sep 1;180(9):995-1004. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2026.2606.PMID: 42440325
As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.
Enjoy!